Tony wrote:
A little over a year ago I had some work done on my garage door
opener. The opener itself is a Craftsman 139.53615SR. It was made
in 1990. It was the unit that was in the home when we bought it, and
we have no documentation for the unit.
/snip/
I asked them for a quote on a new unit. They said their lowest cost
unit would run $295 (that includes installation). They recommended a
screw drive unit with a 10 year warranty for $349. They also said
that if I bought a unit elsewhere it would run $95 to install a
Craftsman and $125 to install any other type opener.

I'm hesitant to deal with this company for a new install if they've
taken advantage of me before, but their prices on new units seem
reasonable.

Nothing wrong with Craftsman openers. In an effort to make the
installation as easy as possible if it were me I'd install a new
Craftsman opener (they are all made by Liftmaster / Chamberlain). I see
on Sears web site that they are selling a 1/2 HP chain drive opener for
$130 with free shipping. If you are reasonably handy with tools and
have a six foot step ladder you will find it reasonably easy to install
yourself in a couple of hours. If you aren't comfortable with this I
suppose you could pay them $95 to install it... it will probably take
them an hour, maybe less.

HTH.

Tony wrote:
/snip/
I asked them for a quote on a new unit. They said their lowest cost
unit would run $295 (that includes installation). They recommended a
screw drive unit with a 10 year warranty for $349. They also said
that if I bought a unit elsewhere it would run $95 to install a
Craftsman and $125 to install any other type opener.


Forgot to mention; if you are after the lowest cost solution consider
just replacing your remote control 'system' with a new one. This should
leave your 'lifetime' warranty on the opener itself intact. The new
remote attaches to the existing push-button wiring. The new Security+
code format receiver and one transmitter is $38 on sale at
http://www.aaaremotes.com/lifgardoorop4.html

Because of its age, I assume your current system doesn't use the
Security+ code format. So, don't forget to order a second remote if you
need it ($20 - http://www.aaaremotes.com/lif97secplus.html)

I Have a 750lb solid wood door , and every time I get a repair guy out
he tries to talk me into a new door , why ,,, for MONEY .... no it is
keep imaculate as far as being maintained .it is like new......... Get
bids ... There are alot of crooks out there , and they only want your
money

On Tue, 5 Aug 2003 14:54:14 -0500, Tony wrote:
A little over a year ago I had some work done on my garage door opener. The
opener itself is a Craftsman 139.53615SR. It was made in 1990. It was the
unit that was in the home when we bought it, and we have no documentation
for the unit.

When it stopped working, we had a local company come out to assess the
problem. They were recommended to me by a colleague. They said that our
door spring was not properly carrying the weight of the door and that as a
result the gear inside the unit was stripped. They indicated that they
could replace the gear, but fairly soon the same problem would likely recur.
(I had tested the spring before they arrived and knew it was problematic.)

They said the door (which is double wide) should have been installed
originally with 2 springs instead of one. I went ahead and had them change
out the doors to 2 new springs and all the related equipment, and then also
repair the opener. They had a package which came with a lifetime warranty
on the door and the opener motor. Cost $468.

The above experience was my first time dealing with a repair company after
purchasing our home, and I learned a lot for the future. I've always felt
like I may have been ripped off, but I wasn't sure. The breakdown on the
bill was as follows:

Service Call $48
Gear Kit $68
Set 218 tor spr $178
set 1000cc tor dru $48
1 c bearing $18
1 set 10 neo rollers $118
Lifetime warranty parts and labor

By buying the above "package" I got a lifetime warranty on the motor and the
door and components. If I hadn't purchased the entire thing I wouldn't have
gotten the warranty. Turns out, that may not have been worth it.

Based on the above, does it look like I was "ripped off"? In particular,
the rollers seem absurdly high, but I wasn't sure about the rest of this.

I ask this, in particular, because it now appears that our opener _may_ be
on its last legs. The remotes no longer work very well. One of them only
works within 6' of the opener unit and 1 of them works further away but
intermittently. I called this company and they said that although my motor
is covered by the warranty, that doesn't cover things related to the remote.
I'm not sure whether it would be worthwhile to have work done just related
to the remotes (which are very old) or if I should just replace this with a
new opener unit.

I asked them for a quote on a new unit. They said their lowest cost unit
would run $295 (that includes installation). They recommended a screw drive
unit with a 10 year warranty for $349. They also said that if I bought a
unit elsewhere it would run $95 to install a Craftsman and $125 to install
any other type opener.

I'm hesitant to deal with this company for a new install if they've taken
advantage of me before, but their prices on new units seem reasonable.

Any advice? I'm located near Pensacola, FL, if anyone has a specific
recommendation of a company in this area.


Well, what were the competitive quotes? If they were relatively close
for the same work and parts, then you probably weren't "ripped off", since
that's the going market rates.

What makes you so sure that you were ripped off, in the first place?

"user" wrote in message
...
Well, what were the competitive quotes? If they were relatively close
for the same work and parts, then you probably weren't "ripped off", since
that's the going market rates.

I didn't get any. As I mentioned in my post, this was my first time dealing
with repair people and I learned my lesson. The "bad thing" is that the two
places I called both said that they wouldn't be sure what the repair would
entail until they saw the equipment. Both places also quoted $48 for a
service call. In light of that, I went with the place recommended to me.

What makes you so sure that you were ripped off, in the first place?

I'm not sure. That's the reason why I posted a price breakdown. I would
like to get feedback from others about whether or not they think I was.

Tony

Tony wrote:
"user" wrote in message
What makes you so sure that you were ripped off, in the first
place?

I'm not sure. That's the reason why I posted a price breakdown. I
would like to get feedback from others about whether or not they
think I was.

Service Call $48
Gear Kit $68
Set 218 tor spr $178
set 1000cc tor dru $48
1 c bearing $18
1 set 10 neo rollers $118
Lifetime warranty parts and labor

For Florida, the service call price seems reasonable, as does the
installed price of most of the other items. As you suspected, the
'roller set' price seems a tad high - but then their pricing may be set
as 'flat rate' instead of T&M, in which case it may not be too far out
of line with the averages. The material isn't all that expensive, and
replacing 10 rollers ought to take about an hour or so on a typical
garage door. How long did it take them?

http://www.garagedoorsupplies.com/hi...s-rollers.html

I guess the 'do you price flat rate' or 'do you price time and
materials' question is one thing to ask about in the future. But be
careful, sometimes you win this one, sometimes you lose.

Tony wrote:

This upgrading of the receiver and remotes seems like the best plan. Thanks
for the info. I didn't really even know that could be done.

Just try a new remote first. Borrow one from a friend if you can.

In article ,
Tony wrote:
A little over a year ago I had some work done on my garage door opener. The
opener itself is a Craftsman 139.53615SR. It was made in 1990. It was the
unit that was in the home when we bought it, and we have no documentation
for the unit.

[...]

I ask this, in particular, because it now appears that our opener _may_ be
on its last legs. The remotes no longer work very well. One of them only
works within 6' of the opener unit and 1 of them works further away but
intermittently. I called this company and they said that although my motor
is covered by the warranty, that doesn't cover things related to the remote.
I'm not sure whether it would be worthwhile to have work done just related
to the remotes (which are very old) or if I should just replace this with a
new opener unit.

If the mechanical part is OK and only the radio part is ill, for a
(relatively) small charge you can buy a replacement receiver and several
remotes. Probably under $100.

Its unlikely you can buy replacement remotes only (which is probably all
you need), Look on the remotes and see if a frequency is marked. Then
ask for a same frequency remote. You also need to match the type,
9-switch, 12-switch, or other.

--
Rich Greenberg Work: Rich.Greenberg atsign worldspan.com + 1 770 563 6656
N6LRT Marietta, GA, USA Play: richgr atsign panix.com + 1 770 321 6507
Eastern time zone. I speak for myself & my dogs only. VM'er since CP-67
Canines:Val(Chinook,CGC,TT), Red & Shasta(Husky,(RIP)) Owner:Chinook-L
Atlanta Siberian Husky Rescue. www.panix.com/~richgr/ Asst Owner:Sibernet-L

"George E. Cawthon" wrote in message
...
I don't understand the problem. Why would you spend $395 to
get a new unit since your current one has a lifetime
warranty? If you have a problem with your current remotes,
get replacement remotes from Sears or find a universal
unit. You should be able to replace the remotes for less
that $50 a pair.

Until I posted here, I was unaware that it was possible to swap out the
remote system to a universal unit. I thought that once the receiver in the
opener "died" that the only solution was replacing the unit. I did order a
universal upgrade kit that will convert this to a rolling code system. That
plus two remotes was just a bit over $50 (we ordered "key chain" remotes).

As you noted, this is great because it preserves the lifetime warranty on
the opener itself.

I never would have found out about the option of upgrading just the remote
until I read about it here. Thanks for everyone who posted with that info.

Tony

I agree with you in theory about doing it yourself, but garage doors
can be dangerous to adjust if you don't know what you are doing.



"JD" wrote in message
.com...
"Tony" wrote in message
...
A little over a year ago I had some work done on my garage door
opener.
[snip]
They said the door (which is double wide) should have been
installed
originally with 2 springs instead of one. I went ahead and had
them
change
out the doors to 2 new springs and all the related equipment, and
then
also
repair the opener. They had a package which came with a lifetime
warranty
on the door and the opener motor. Cost $468.
[snip]
Lifetime warranty parts and labor

Who's lifetime? The reality is that it's the company you bought it
from and
I guarantee that if you call them with a problem, they will blame it
on
something else.

The residential garage door business is loaded with scams and it's
hard to
find a good company. My best advice to you if you are able-bodied is
to get
out there and take care of things yourself.

It's fine to have someone install a door for you (I recommend using
a
company that normally does commercial installations) but there's no
reason
you can't install an opener yourself.

Sometime last year one of the networks did the ol' hidden camera
sting on
garage door and HVAC guys and I was sickened.

I'm not in the business but I too am mechanically inclined -
and I don't think Tony was ripped off or enjoys hearing
someone say he was!

It costs money to run a business, be licensed, bonded,
insured, and train and keep good people. Advertising and
other expenses you wouldn't even think about also surely
come into play - things like maintaining inventory.

The company didn't necessarily sell Tony a lot of stuff he
didn't need - what they did was tell him if you didn't buy
the package deal there would be no warranty. Why they did
that makes perfect sense. They want what any home owner
wants - the system to be reliable and not need repair
again. Perhaps prices were in line and perhaps there was
someone out there just as reputable but cheaper. However,
where Tony lives may have something to do with that too
(cost of living is decidedly different in Las Angeles,
California than Selma Alabama...). Even if what he was
charged was high, Tony has an old motor which the company
will likely have to replace for free in the future. If the
price he paid gets that done without hassle I say he is
ahead of the game.

Too bad the suggestion about changing the battery and
cleaning the contacts wasn't the first suggestion.

Stephen Kurzban


Richard J Kinch wrote:

Tony writes:

Service Call $48
Gear Kit $68
Set 218 tor spr $178
set 1000cc tor dru $48
1 c bearing $18
1 set 10 neo rollers $118
Lifetime warranty parts and labor

Based on the above, does it look like I was "ripped off"?

Absolutely. Fair price for the springs and installation would be $150
tops. For that gear installed $75. So you paid double what you ought.
But you probably didn't even need most of the items you paid for! In sum,
you paid $468 for parts with a cost of no more than about $75. The
diagnosis, retailing and installation of those parts has legitimate value,
but imagine the profit if every customer was that much of a sucker for
mark-ups.

You may not have needed the springs at all. The opener gears are plastic
and wear out normally.

The sick thing is that some in the trade considers this fair dealing. The
justify it as preventative maintenance when they sell you all kinds of
stuff you don't need.

That warranty has no particular value above the normal warranty of
performance you would be entitled to anyway.

You got robbed. You got manipulated by experts when you were vulnerable.
You didn't know any better. Now (let's hope) you will.

Learn to think critically, and act upon critical thinking, or you will
always be a sheep to be shorn. In this age of Google, you don't need to be
ignorant of how stuff works (and fails to work) and what it should cost to
fix it.

See my page:

http://www.truetex.com/garage.htm

People send me sob stories like yours all the time. You are only on the
upper-middle of the ripoff scale. I've heard far worse.